Bento Box – Shumai Bento

Method5 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Use ready-cooked Shumai, prepared finely scrambled egg and cooked peas. Cut five small V-shaped notches around each of the three carrot rounds, then round the pointed petal edges; a small flower cutter also works. Boil the flowers in enough water to cover until softened, then drain and cool. Fill half of a clean bento box with the cup of warm cooked rice (1 cup), leaving about 1 cm at the top. Let steam escape briefly while preparing the remaining compartments.

   Uses 1 cup ready-cooked rice · 3 carrot rounds, about 3 mm thick, cut and softened in step 1 · Water for boiling the carrot flowers and, if needed, steaming the cooked dumplings

2. 2

   Step 2: If the ready-cooked Shumai were frozen, thaw in the fridge and steam over boiling water until reheated throughout to 74°C / 165°F. Let steam escape briefly. Place all five ready-cooked dumplings beside the rice, filling most of the remaining space.

   Uses The box and all packed rice · 5 ready-cooked Japanese pork Shumai dumplings · Water for steaming previously frozen cooked Shumai, if needed

3. 3

   Step 3: Put both tablespoons prepared sweet-and-sour red cabbage in a small food-safe liner and place it next to the Shumai.

   Uses The same partly filled box · 2 tbsp prepared Sweet and Sour Pickled Red Cabbage

4. 4

   Step 4: Spread all the supplied half-portion of prepared Iri Tamago over half the rice surface. Cover the remaining rice surface with all the supplied half-portion of cooked peas.

   Uses The same partly filled box · ½ portion prepared Iri Tamago from the Sanshoku Bento recipe · ½ portion prepared peas from the Sanshoku Bento recipe

5. 5

   Step 5: Arrange the three softened carrot flowers along the boundary between the egg and peas. Pack the optional soy sauce in a separate tightly closed container for dipping the dumplings at lunch. Eat promptly, or refrigerate promptly and keep chilled with ice packs during transport.

   Uses The same assembled bento · All three cooked flower-shaped carrot rounds · Soy sauce for serving, as desired